Mechanical cotton picker



April 22, 1930. w. L.. vTURNER MECHANICAL COTTON PICKER 4 Sheets-SheetFiled Jan. 2. 1929 Inventor tornqy W. L. TURNER Apljil22, 1930.

MECHANICAL COTTON PICKER 'Filed Jan. 2. 1929 4 sneets-s`heet Inventor WZZ far/fer Attorney `PI' 22, 1930- w. l.. TURNER MECHANCAL COTTON PICKERFiled Jan. 2, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventar ,aq-il22,y193o,v l A w. L.TURNER 1,755,230

MECHANICAL COTTON PICKER l Filed Jan. 2, 1929 4 Sheets- Sheet 4 6,1Inventor l far/76% ioV `Patented Apr. 2.2, 1930 iguane g y lwirL'IJR nTUBNERQCEPARIS; TEXAS" "Application fiiedf January v2, ieee.. seri'aiNo. 329,786.

i vrlhe present inyention relates'y apparatusffor picking cotton andhasrforlts prime objectto provi-de a structure which is simpler,vyinexpensive to; manufacture, 4Strong;andt diurablel,easy tomanipulatexlthoroughly eclent.

and reliablein use and operation, andother- ,wise welladapted to.thefpurposerforwhich it t y the casing.

is designed.

With the above andI numeroue other ob;

jects in. viewaswill appear Vas the description procevede,` theinuentionresides in; j certain knovel featurest of construction, and.the combination` and i arrangement; ofl f parts f as will-.behereinafter'more fully described and claimed.;- Y

lInt-he drawing; i

u Figure l-fis: a sidef el,eVati'o-n#oftheappary ratus embodying thefeaturesof my 1nven-1 tion? Y u c Figure 2 is a topplan yiewtl-liereof,` f i Figure 3 isv a 'transverseyvertical sectionYtakensubstantiallyonthe lineiSL--.of Figi-- y u ,Y u. A u.

' v Y Y v* bottom 72l makestlie receptacle,- 12 airti`ghtv.u

u Fig-ure 4 is alongfitudinal section through; the receptacletaken-eubstantiallyon line n l Vreceptacle at offFigure 2,1 Y 'f i yFigure 5 is @11T-end ,view offtliefebll@ c u Y c ment withthereareclgeof thefajlsebottom iron vwith the gearingmount'ed itherein.

:Figure ie alongitudinal yerticalzse'ctiony throiughl ,one ofthev pickerniechajnismgf;

VFigure; 7 is' af Section taken-rsubstantially onthe-1ine7-'7 ofFigure.-c

u VReferring tortheU-drawingsin jdetaihit will vbe seen that thev,numeral 5' denotes an inverted U-shaped axlev mounted. on wheels 6journaledf on'v the end sthereof. VA hanger bracket 7 ,supports anVengine Sfroin the Aaxle 5. l A counter shaft). isjsupported below onevend ofthe axle by meansof,bearings7.1() andv is ,operativelyconnectedwith the engine, 8 by g.earingg11.` A N r c lA closed receptacle 12 ismounted onthe axle 5 and isV formed; with ,anupstandingl dome 'creasing14,' that" is also closed ,"lhe:l interior of the casing'lll is incommunication clined false bottom 72'adjacentits` rear endand thelbottom 73 adjacent this falsebotis alinedfwithrslot Sltofpe'rinitthevup'pefr run the receptaclethrough'the opening 14, ,i l

in thetop wall of the receptacle andboth the receptacle and casing areairtight. v A fordern-vr` f inous drum 15.V is rigidly ySecured tothe'Vshaft 0 .705 the ends of which are journaledin open- 5 ings 71 in theopposite sidewalls of the casing 14 so that thepdrumwill rotate withinY. .The peningsllmaybe made air tight by gland packingnuts ofv anyconventional conr struction that are notjsvhowninthe drawings.'r Theside walls 0I" the ycasing lfare continuousl or vextensionsY ontheceideowlls of the'recep# tacle andthe endwal'ls thereoif mergewiththe topl wallof the receptacle about theopenings,` 6,0

14C Y. i "llhefbottoin of the casingy iegopened and u registerswith theopening 1450i? the recep-L Y tacle. rlhe receptacle'igion-edll with ,aninf tomielprovidediwith ajslot 615.` -Thedalse y Thre'arend oiithereceptacle'.l 1`2is closed by` u; a tall gate'fM hinged tothetop'Lwall-of the Y Theun. gate '74219; ,heid iii tight eiligge-f- 72byalatchll The-tailgate. Z4 is provided with?aelot below the falsebottom 72; thatv yo" a belt 60 to pass therethrough; l'

, A suctionfan 16 'isi mounted onthe recep" tac-le '12 and thefshat 17thereofis operatively connected with thecounter lslia-ft"9"by abeltV uan'dpulley'meanshl. f f

.femmine 19%1eadSfr0-mf the" kintake of,

the suctionfan 16 and has a, plurality ofV Y vbranches` 2O leading'into'themfront of the casing 14. Asuperstructur'e includes apair ofbarsQl'lixedfto the `forward upper cornersy y of the container 12`and-inclining upwardly' Y andv rearwardly and terminating in horizontalrearwardly extendingportions' the extremmember 23.

A brace 24 extends between the intermediate portions of the bars 21 anduprights 25 rise from the rear corners of the receptacle upwardly andare fixed-to intermediate portions of the bar 21. A plurality offlexible conduits 26 lead from the rear of the casing through loopbrackets 2T depending from the channel lmember 23 and on the endsthereof have picker mechanisms denoted'generally by the letter P. l

rll`he conduits 26 leading into, the-interior of the casing 14 throughthe rear end wall thereof from the picker mechanism P are in alinementwith the branches 20 leading from the manifold 19 of the suction 'fan16( across the casing between the conduits and y branches.

rlhe axis of the drum 15vis disposed abou-.tand transversely of the pathof the current of air iiowingthrough the casing from conduit 26 throughconduit 20, so that the air impinging onthe lower portion of thedrumwill cause this drum to rotate,

Each picker mechanism includes a casing formed with side walls 28, a topWall 29, a bot-v tom wall 30, and-a'rear wall 31. rlhe rear wall 31 isprovided `with an opening 32 in which is fixed the respective flexibleconduits 26. A. shaft 35 is j ournaled in end plates 86 in the ends ofthechannelV member 23 and has a plurality 'of bevel gears 37 thereonmeshing withbeveledgears 38 on the ends of flexible' shafts journaledthrough thevrear plate of the channel member 23. The flexibleV shafts 40extend along the flexible conduits and are j ournaled in the handle 41and connected with a shaft 42 in gear casing 48 on the bottom 30 of thepicker mechanism l). Two sets of drums are journaledbetween top 29'andbottom 30 one set to eachside of the center of the casing to includeforward pairs 45,- intermediate pairs 46, and rear pairs 48.

Each drum includes a plurality of disks a disposed in spaced relationand having outwardly radiating peripheral'fingers The disks a of thedrums'46 are larger in diameter than the disks a of thedrums 45 and thedisks @of the drums 48 'arelarger than the disks a; of the drums 46.

I Gears 50 in the case 43 are mounted on the shaft extensions from t-hedrum and have counter gears 51 therebetween in'mesh theredirect-ionwhile the lower drum rotates in` aV clockwise direction.

l,'l`hedisks i of drums 46 are alternately arranged with respect tothedisks of drumsv 45 and 48 as clearly illustrated in Figure 7 A spiralgear 55 is on the shaft 42 and The rotatable foraminous drum is mounted1n casl meshes with the gears 56 which inturn mesh with the gears 50 onthe shaft extensions of the drums 48. The shaft 35 is operativelyconnected to the fly wheel 60 of the engine 8 by the belt 60 and theupperrun of this belt extends through slots 61 and 62.

Suitable one horsedraft means or the like 6:3 is provided on the frontof the receptacle so that the machine may be pulled along by a singlehorse if desired. As the machine is pulled along a plurality of mendirect the picker mechanisms P so that the suction shut up through theflexible conduit will draw cotton through the conduit into the casing soasY tohit the rotatable baille foraminous drum 15 and drop to the bottomof the receptacle.

The fingers D 'of the front drum .iirst engage the cottonand deliver itto the fingers of the rear drum andthe suction pulls in the cot- 'tontothe flexible conduit from the casing of the picker mechanism as willbequite apparent.

' lt is thought that the construction, operation, utility and advantagesof this invention will now be quite apparent to those skilled in thisart without amore detailed description thereof.` Y Y Y f 4`rlhe presentembodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail merely for thepurposes ofexemplification since in vactual practice-itattains thefeaturesof advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of theinvention and the Vabove 'descripion f lt willbe apparentlthat changesinfthe de-VV tails of construction, Vand in the combination andarrangement of partsV may be resorted to without departing from thespirit'or scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed orsacriicing'any o'f its advantages. Y

Having thus described my invention, whatV I claim as new is:V

1.V -An apparatus of the class described includinga wheeled receptacle,acasing on top of the receptacle in communication therewith and forming apart thereoffa suction creatingimeans communicatingwith'the front of;

the casing,'flexible conduits leading from the rear-of the'casing` toprovide a vcurrent of air throughthe casing between said conduits andsuction" creating means, a rotaryforamino'us drum inthe casing 'disposedin the current of air-,the axis of said drum being transverse toandoflset from said current of air, and cottonpicking'mechanisrns on thefree ends of said'flexibleconduits.n 1

' 2;"An apparatus of the clasps described including a wheeledreceptacle, a casing on top of the receptacle in communication therewithand forming a part thereof, a suction creating means communicating withthe Vfront of the casing, flexible conduits leading Vfrom the rear ofthecasing to provide a current of air through thecasing between saidconduits and suctionr creating means, aV rotary foraminous drum in thecasing disposed in the cur- VYG D!! nu rent of air, the axis of saiddrum'being transverse to v`and odset fromV said current of air,

Vcotton picking mechanisms on the free ends of said flexible conduits,and a superstructure Y supported on said receptacle for supporting theflexible conduits.

3. An apparatus of the class described including a wheeled receptacle, acasingontop of the receptacle invcommunication therewith, andv forming apart thereof, a suction creating means communicating with the front oftheV casing, flexible conduits rleading from the rear of the casing toprovide a current 'of air through the casing between saidconduits andsuctioncreating means, a rotary foraminous drum in the casing disposedin the currentiof air', the axis of said drum being transverse to landoffset from said currentY ofair, cotton lpicking mechanisms on thefree'lendsof said vflexible conduits, a superstructure supported v f inga part thereof, suction creating means communicating with` the casingfrom the front'thereof, flexible conduits leading from the rear of thecasing to provide a current of air through the casing between saidconduits and suction creating means, a rotary foraminous `drum in thecasing disposed in the current of air, the axis of said drum beingtransverse to and offset from said current of air, and cotton pickingmechanisms on the free ends of said flexible conduits. f

In testimony whereof I afix my signature.y

WALTER L.Y TURNER.

on'said receptacle for supporting the flexible i conduits, and eachmechanism including a plurality of rotatable members'having fingersthereon. 1 v v 4. An apparatus of the `class described including awheeled receptacle, a casing ontop VVof the receptacle in communicationtherewith,

and forming apart thereof, a suction creating means communicating withthe front of theicasing, flexible conduits leading from the rear of thecasing to provide a'current of air through the casing between saidconduits'and l suction creating means, a rotary foraminous drum in thecasing disposed in the current of air, the axis of said drum beingtransverse to and offset from said current ofv air,y cotton pickingmechanisms on the freeends of said flexible conduitsa superstructuresupported on said receptacle for supportingy the flexible conduits, andeach mechanism rincludingy a plurality of rotatable members lhavingfingers thereon, and a flexible shaft operatively f connected with saidrotatable members, gearings, supported on the superstructure andoperatively connectedQwith the flexible shaft, a prime mover below thereceptacle, and means operatively connecting the prime mover with thegearing.

5. A device of the classdescribed including `a receptacle,'a `casing onthe receptacle in communication therewith and forming a part thereof,suction creating means communicat` ing with one side of the said casing,flexible conduits leading from an opposite side Vof the .casing toprovidea current of air through the

